Tuesday, February 21, 2012

"The books in the first library disappeared within six hours and the plywood shelf within just ten days."

Thus began an amazing project by Architect John Locke and DUB (Department of Urban Betterment) to both utilize existing but unused public space. The reincarnation of the project aka DUB002 has survived its initial placement and continues to beckon citizen readers. People seem wary about taking the books (Locke suspects its because of the DUB logos on the spines) and returning with new ones, so he is rethinking how to make the project's book-sharing goals (aka instructions) more obvious but still not limiting. This reminds me of the lending library cart we have at work. People take books, read books, and add new books. It's always full.

Everything is connected and my mind is blown. I'm a fan of systems theory and the idea that everything is connected. When Brian Cox explains it this way, however, we move beyond the cool, hippie, "yeah, man, it's all connected and you're my brother-sister-tree-stone-mother-life-force-cousin" and into the scary inexplicable vastness of the weird. Don't believe me? Just watch.

Are you rubbing something right now and warming it up? I thought so. My electrons feel different. Now stop it or you'll go blind.

Monday, February 20, 2012

After watching two Canadian films today, I've decided that I either need to visit Canada again or go on a road trip. Or, if I'm feeling adventurous, I'll go on a Canadian road trip.

First, I watched "One Week," starring Joshua Jackson. Let's face it, Pacey was always our favorite on "One Tree Hill" or whatever that show was called (Fringe? Dawson's Creek? That's it!). And he's grown into an even more handsome man. Oh, Joshua. You're just so cuddly with a dash of non-conformist danger. Perfect. So, Joshua's character is diagnosed with a potentially terminal illness (no spoilers--it's in the description) and decides to take a life-altering trip from Toronto to the Pacific Ocean. Go West, young man. I thought it would be terrible, but I kept watching and was drawn into the movie and this character's life story. If you, too, have a holiday Monday to blow, I can recommend it.

Now, we've all read "On the Road," right? It's a book you have to read at the right time of your life--teens or early twenties. I read it early in college and immediately wanted to hit the road. So cliché, right? But it has an effect on you. Kerouac distilled the magic well in those pages. But. flash forward 20 years. . . . The feeling doesn't really go away, but the baggage gets heavier. Work and bills and obligations are the gravity holding you in place, but the spark of wanderlust lies in wait. Maps catch your eye. You look at travel sites with no real destination in mind. You watch movies about driving across Canada on a motorcycle. Make sure that passport is up-to-date.

It wasn't just travel today, though. The theme, if you remember, was Canada. I also watched a movie called "Heartbeats" in English and "Les amours imaginaires" in French. Set in Montreal, it told the story of two friends, Marie, a vintage-loving, stylish woman who seems old enough to know better and Francis, a modern young gay man with an eye for fashion and a fear of rejection. They both meet and become infatuated with Nico, the boy with curly blond hair who casually and carelessly fits into their idea of the perfect mate. It's a love triangle, it's in French (well Canadian French), and it's gorgeously filmed. Watch it and think about that time you read more into something than you should have. Bang bang.

Monday, February 13, 2012

A Beluga whale has become a sensation at an aquarium after learning how to blow halo-shaped bubbles. The extraordinary sight was captured on camera by photographer Hiroya Minakuchi at the Shimane aquarium in Japan. He said: "This beluga started making bubble rings when she was seven. And a couple of years ago she developed her technique. Now she blows the water from her mouth to make a current, which is not visible for us underwater. She then blows air from her blow hole into the current and that makes a ring shape."